Milkshakes for Sale

After the ride yesterday we stopped at the aptly-named 59er Diner on Highway 2, east of Steven's Pass. It's a small kitschy type of place, with a big ol Wurlitzer jukebox, and a long wraparound counter, numerous high-back booths and pinups of Marilyn Monroe covering the walls of the men's room. The menu is basic diner fare -- burgers, fries, and the option to drown everything in gravy and/or chili. The 59er Diner can be yours for $640,000. I immediately thought how perfect my retro-loving sister would be as the owner of a place like this.

I had a bacon cheeseburger, curly fries, and a vanilla milkshake. I didn't want a milkshake, but I felt compelled to contribute towards history.

You see, the 59er Diner has a dry-erase board that lists how many milkshakes they sell each month. The data goes back to January of 2006. The record, set last August, was 4002 milkshakes. That's an average of nearly 130 milkshakes per day. A separate note hanging on the wall informs patrons that they sold 303 milkshakes in a single day during that month.

It should be noted that the 59er Diner is not in a town. There's no community of residents within ten minutes of this place. Instead, it would seem that the place relies almost entirely on people making the trek over Steven's Pass to the many recreation areas to the east. The monthly totals show that November is their slowest milkshake month. Probably because the weather isn't conducive for camping and hiking and because there's not enough snow in the mountains for the ski resorts to be a draw just yet. They sell many more milkshakes in December and January.

They sold 3,955 milkshakes last month. I'm hoping I can return to the 59er Diner this fall and see that they set a new record this August. And I'll know that in some small way I helped them get there. It's history in the making.